Boulder Beach
Acadia National Park, ME
BOULDER BEACH
A BRIEF SUMMARY OF BOULDER BEACH
Boulder Beach is one of the absolute best spots on Mt. Desert island, the primary home of Acadia National Park, to capture a beautiful sunrise.
Each morning the sun will rise over the Atlantic and cast its warm glow on the smooth, rounded boulders that literally cover the beach at this location. It's not hard to take some magical shots here. However, the true impact of your image will likely depend on the wave action and the atmosphere you receive on the day you visit.
Photos and location summary by Darron Franta
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DATA POINTS INCLUDED WITH BOULDER BEACH SUMMARY
I would rate the difficulty of this trail as a 2 on a scale of 1-5 (with 5 being most difficult). The walk/trail down to Boulder Beach is short and relatively easy. However, it does have a few challenges pay close attention to.
As you leave the Ocean Path, you will need to descend a slight incline and scramble over some large rocks to reach the beach/boulders. Once there, you will need to navigate the rounded boulders and that can prove to be tricky. The challenge is not only walking on them, but also finding out that many can be slick, and some may also be loose and will shift or tilt when you step on them. If you are going there to shoot sunrise, this walk will likely be done in the dark with a headlamp so arrive early and just take your time and try not to rush.
If you do plan to shoot sunrise at this location, I would recommend visiting and scouting the area in the daylight so that you will know the exact path you should take in the predawn darkness. This will also help to acclimate yourself to walking on the boulders.
This shot is fairly straightforward. You simply need to find a location along the beach that is complementary to the sunrise, clouds and the lens that you are using. Experiment with different tripod heights and exposure settings.
There are many compositions available while at Boulder Beach, so I would bring a wide angle and medium telephoto lens.
The above image was taken with an ND filter @ 100 ISO, f20 at 16mm and 8 seconds.
Sea Level Ft. Elevation
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LOCATION SUMMARIES WRITTEN BY PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS
